When the gods
bow down at the feet of Bhagavan Rishabhdeva the radiance of the
jewels of their crowns is intensified by the divine glow of the
nails of his feet. Mere touch of his feet absolves the beings
from sins. He who submits himself at these feet crosses the
mundane barriers of rebirth into the state of liberation. I
convey my reverential salutation salutations at the feet of
Bhagavan Rishabhdeva, the first Thrthmkara, the propagator of
religion at the beginning of this era.

Celestial lords,
having prudence acquired through the true understanding of all
the canons, have eulogized Bhagavan Adinatha with hymns
captivating the audience in the three realms (heaven, earth and
hell). I (Manatungacharya, an humble man with little wisdom) too
shall indeed endeavour to eulogize that first Tirthamkara.

Only an ignorant
child tries for an impossible took like grabbing the reflection
of the moon in water. Similarly, O Jina! out of impudence alone I
am trying, inspite of my ignorance, to eulogize you, who has been
revered by the gods.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

O Ocean of
virtues! Can even Brihaspati, the guru of gods, with the help of
his unlimited wisdom, narrate your virtues pure and blissful as
the moon ? (certainly not.) Can a man swim across the reptile
infested ocean in fury, lashed by gales of deluge? (certainly
not.)----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OApostle of
apostles! I do not possess the widdom to narrate your infinite
virtues. Still, inspired by my devotion for you, I intend to
compose a hymn in your praise. It is well known that to protect
her fawn, even a doe puts her feet down and faces a lion,
forgetting its own fraility. (Similarly, devotion is forcing me
to face the great task of composing the hymn without assessing my
own capacity.

Oembodimentofpurewisdom!
Ihavesolittleknowledgethatlamanobject of ridicule for the wise.
Still, my devotion tor you stirrs me to sing hymns in your
praise, as the mango sprouts impell the cuckoo during the spring
time to produce its melodious coo.

I compose this
panegyric with the belief that, though composed by an ignorant
like me, it will certainly please noble people due to your divine
influence. Indeed, when on lotus leaves, dew drops gleam like
pearls presenting a pleasant sight.

O Lord of the
living! O Eminence of the world! It is not surprising that he who
is engrossed in praise of your infinite virtues (assimilating the
virtues in his conduct) attains your exalted position. It should
not be surprising if a benevolent master makes his subjects his
equals. In fact, what is the use of serving such a master who
does not allow his dependents to prosper to an exalted position
like his ?

O Jina! Your
divine magnificence is spell-binding. After looking at your
divine form nothing else pleases the eye. Obviously, who would
like to taste the saline sea water after drinking fresh water of
the divine milk-ocean, pure and soothing like moonlight ?

O Crown of the
three realms! It appears as if the quiescence and harmony
imparting ultimate particles became extinct after constituting
your body, because I do not witness such out of the world
magnificence other than yours

Analogy of your
face with the moon does not appear proper to me . How can your
scintillating face, that pleases the eyes of gods, angels, humans
and other beings alike, be compared with the spotted moon that is
as dull and pale, during the day, as the autumn leaves. Indeed,
even the best available analogy for your face is lowly in
comparison.

O Lord of the
three realms! Surpassing the glow of the full moon, your infinite
virtues are radiating throughout the universe even beyond the
three realms; the hymns in praise of your virtues can be heard
everywhere throughout the universe. Indeed, who can curb the
freedom of movement of devotees of the only omnipotent like you?
(certainly no one is capable of).

OPassionless
! Divine nymphs have tried their best to allure you through libid
gestures, but it is not surprising that your tranquillity has not
been disturbed even fractionally. Of course, the tremendous gale
of the doomsday, that moves common hillocks, can not disturb even
the tip of the great Sumeru mountain.

O Monk among
monks! Your unabounding glory is greater than that of the sun.
The sun rises every day but sets as well, but the orb of your
omniscience is ever shining, it never sets. The sun is eclipsed
but you are passionless and infinitely virtuous; as such, no
mundane passion or desire eclipses the glory of your virtues. The
sun slowly rises over parts of the world, but the glow of your
omniscience reaches every part of the world at once. The sunrays
are obstructed by insignificant clouds, but there is nothing that
can obstruct the radiance of your knowledge.

O Lord! Your
lotus face is a moon par-excellence. The moon shines only at
night and that too in a fortnightly cycle, But your face is ever
radiant. The moon light penetrates darkness only to a limited
extent, your face removes the universal darkness of ignorance and
desire. The moon is eclipsed as well as covered by clouds, but
there is nothing that can veil your face.

O Lord of the
Universe! Where is the need of the sun during the day and the
moon during the night when your ever radiant face sweeps away the
darkness of the world. Indeed, once the crop is ripe what is the
need of the thundering rain clouds.

O Lord!
The pure, incessant and, complete knowledge that you have, can
not be found in any other deity in this world. Indeed, the lustre
and light of priceless gems can hardly be seen in the glass
pieces glittering in a beam of light.

O Supreme Lord !
It is good that I have seen other mundane deities before seeing
you; because the discontent even after seeing them has been
removed by the glimpse of your detached and serene expression.
Now that I have witnessed the ultimate I can not be satisfied
with anything lesser in this or the later lives.

O Unique One!
Numerous stars and planets can be seen in all directions but the
sun rises only in the East. Similarly innumerable women give
birth to sons but an illustrious son like you was born only to
one mother; you are unique.

O Sage of sages
! All sages believe you to be the supreme being beyond the
darkness, and brilliant as the sun. You are free of the
malignance of attachment and aversion and beyond the darkness of
ignorance. One gains immortality by perceiving, understanding,
and following the path of purity you have shown. There is no
other path leading to salvation.

Jina ! The wise
have eulogized your omniscience, so you are the Buddha. You are
the ultimate benefactor of all the beings in the universe, so you
are Shamkara. You are the originator of the codes of
conduct (Right faith, Right knowledge and Right conduct) leading
to Moksha, so you are Brahma. You are manifest in thoughts
of all the devotees in all the splendour of the ultimate, so you
are Vishnu. Hence you are supreme of all.

O Deliverer from
all the miseries of the three realms! I bow to you. O Virtuous
adoration of this world! I bow to you. O Lord paramount of the
three realms! I bow to you. O Terminator of the unending chain of
waves of rebirths! I bow to you.

O Virtuous ! It
is not surprising that all the virtues have been drawn and
densely fused into you, leaving no scope for vices. The vices
have creeped in multitude of other beings. Elevated by the false
pride, they drift away and do not approach you even in dream.

O Tirthankara!
Sitting under the Ashoka tree, the aura of your scintillating
body radiating, you look as divinely splendid as the orb of the
sun amidst dense clouds, piercing the growing darkness with its
rays.

O Tirthankara !
Sitting on a throne with multicoloured hue of gems, your bright
golden body looks resplendent and attractive like the rising sun
on the peak of the eastern mountain, radiating golden rays under
the canopy of the blue sky.

O Tirthankara!
The snow white fans of loose fibres (giant whisks) swinging on
both sides of your golden body appear like streams of water, pure
and glittering as the rising moon, flowing down the sides of the
peak of the golden mountain, Sumeru.

0 Tirthankara! A
three tier canopy adorns the space over your head. It has the
soft white glow of the moon and is decorated with pearl frills.
This canopy has screened the scorching sun rays. Indeed, this
three tier canopy symbolizes your paramountcy over the three
realms.

The deep
resonant drum beats fill space in all directions as if
felicitating your serene presence and giving a call to all the
beings of the three realms to join the pious path shown by you.
All space is reverberating with this announcement of victory of
the true religion.

O Tirthankara!
The divine spray of perfumes and shower of fragrant flowers, like
Mandar, Sundar, Nameru, Parijata, etc., float toward you with the
drift of mild breeze. This enchanting scene creates an impression
as if the pious words uttered by you have turned into flowers and
are floating toward the earthlings.

O Tirthankara!
The splendorous halo around you is more brilliant than any other
luminous object in the universe. It dispels darkness of the night
and is more dazzling than many suns put together; but still it is
as cool and soothing as the bright full moon.

0 Tirthankara !
Your divine voice (discourse) is potent enough to show the path
of liberation to all beings. It has the clarity to reveal the
mystery of matter and its transformation. Profound but candid, it
has the astounding capacity of transforming into the language
understood by each being of the world.

O Lord of
ascetics ! The height of eloquence, lucidity and eruditeness
evident in your discourse is not seen anywhere else. Indeed, the
darkness dissipating dazzle of the sun can never be seen in the
twinkling stars and planets.

O Jina ! The
devotees who have submitted to you are not scared even of a mad
mammoth with dripping humor and being incessantly goaded by
humming bees. (They are always and everywhere fearless as the
quietitude of their deep meditation pacifies even the most
oppressive of the beings.

O Jina ! A
ferocious lion tears open the temples of elephant and scatters
around white bone-pearls made crimson with blood. Even such angry
and roaring lion, ready to leap at its prey, gets pacified and
does not attack a devotee who has taken shelter at your secure
feet. (In other words, your devotee is free of the fear of
ferocious lions.)

O Jina ! Even
the all consuming forest conflagaration, as if kindled by the
doomsday tempest and having incandescent sparking flames, is
extinguished in no time by the quenching stream of your name
laudition. (That is, your devotee has no fear of fire.)

O Benevolent! A
devotee who has absorbed the anti-toxin of your pious name
crosses fearlessly over an extremely venomous and hissing serpent
that has blood red eyes, pitch black body, obnoxious appearance
and raised hood. (That is, your devotee has no fear of snakes.)

O Conqueror of
vices! As darkness recedes with the rising of the sun, the armies
of formidable kings, creating tumultuous uproar of whinnying
horses and trumpeting elephants, retreat when your pious name is
chanted. (In other words, your devotee is free of the fear of
enemies.)

O Vanquisher of
the passions! In the fierce battle, where brave warriors are
eager to plod over the streams of blood gushing out of the bodies
of elephants pierced by sharp spears, the devotee having sought
protection of the garden of your lotus feet embraces victory
ultimately. (In other words,your devotee is always victorious in
the end.)

O Equanimous !
Abroad a ship caught at the crest of giant waves and surrounded
by attacking alligators, giant oceanic creatures, and marine
fire, with the help of your name chanting, the devotees surmount
such horrors and cross the ocean. (That is, your devotees are
free of the fear of water).

O Omniscient! An
extremely sick person, disfigured due to advanced dropsy and
having lost all hopes of recovery and survival, when rubs the
nectar-like dust particles taken from your lotus feet, fully
recovers and becomes handsome as Adonis.

0 Liberated
soul! Persons put in prison, tied from head to toe in heavy
chains, whose thighs have been bruised by the rough edges of the
chain- links, get unshackled and freed from bondage by chanting
your name.

O Jina! With
devotion I have made up this string (panegyric) of your virtues.
I have decorated it with charming and multicoloured (words)
flowers (sentiments). The devotee who always wears it in the neck
(memorises and chants) attracts the goddess of success (attracts
highest honour, the goal of liberation).